As the world struggles with the COVID-19 crisis, everyone at NCKRI continues to send their best hopes that you and your loved ones are well. Until further notice, the NCKRI offices are closed and all staff is working from home. Our office phones should be forwarding calls to each person’s mobile phone, but if you have difficulty reaching anyone at NCKRI, please contact me directly through my contact information at the end of this message.

The virus continues to postpone, change, and cancel many meetings and activities. See the announcements and conference list below for some of these changes. We will send more as we receive them. Please follow instructions from your countries health offices (in the USA, www.cdc.gov) on how to stay safe and minimize the spread of this terrible disease.

Please contact the people and organizations listed below for more information, and feel free to share this message with anyone who may be interested.

George

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International Year of Caves and Karst: A Good Time to Plan

The International Year of Caves and Karst (IYCK) will be the biggest and most important speleological event ever, but only if you participate. While we do not minimize the effect of the COVID virus, for many people staying at home this is a good opportunity to begin or continue your planning for the IYCK. Everyone will need an uplifting year after 2020, and celebrations for the IYCK is a great way to spend 2021.

Since our last message, more partners continue to join us to teach the world about the importance of caves and karst. Visit the www.iyck2021.org to see the 62 partner organizations listed so far. If your organization is not listed, and you planning events to support the IYCK, then send in your logo and website. To get involved, download the IYCK Planning Guide from www.iyck2021.org to learn all you need to know about how to join the IYCK.

The IYCK has incredible potential to advance speleology in many and great ways, but only if we all work together to make it possible.

George Veni, PhD

Executive Director, National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI)

and

President, International Union of Speleology (UIS)

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Road to the International Year of Caves and Karst: An Invitation

Professor Eko Haryano from the Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia, invites you to participate in an international expedition to a remote karst area in Indonesia.

"We invite all speleologists and cavers in the whole globe to join and explore this hidden and pristine karst area. All of you are cordially welcomed”

As previously announced, the 16th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst (more commonly called The Sinkhole Conference) has been rescheduled to 12-16 April 2021 at its same location in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This delay offers the opportunity for you to submit papers to present and publish in the conference proceedings, which will be published in two editions. The first edition will be released as originally scheduled in April 2020 and will include all the papers that would have been presented by the original conference schedule. But starting now, you can submit additional papers for publication and presentation at the conference next year. Those papers will be published in the second edition of the proceedings, combining them with the papers published in the first edition. Papers from the first and second editions will be scheduled for oral and possibly poster presentation in 2021.

Here are the deadlines for papers for the second edition:

July 24, 2020: Abstract due

July 29, 2020: Authors notified of abstract acceptance

October 19, 2020: Draft papers due

November 23, 2020: Authors provided with review and comments

December 21, 2020: Final papers due

Since 1984, the Sinkhole Conference has been the world’s leading conference on engineering and environmental management issues in karst. The conference proceedings are used and cited widely. Since 2015, NCKRI has posted the proceedings for free download on the Karst Information Portal where they are downloaded thousands of times each year, even back to 2015, from dozens of countries around the world. We hope you will consider presenting your paper at the Sinkhole Conference next year where your work will be shared and acknowledged internationally.

As always, I hope this message finds you well. The planning committee has realized that an in-person meeting is not feasible this year due to the COVID-19 crisis. As such, we will be modifying the current program to an online-only format. We hope to offer all authors and workshop facilitators some method of online presentation and will be in touch as we work out the details of the transition to a virtual conference. One of those details being reduced registration fees and refund procedures; thank you for being patient. For now,

If you have made hotel reservations at the Hyatt Place or Holiday Inn, please contact those hotels directly to cancel your reservation.

If you are a presenting author or workshop facilitator that cannot participate in the virtual August meeting, please contact us directly at .

We look forward to working with all of you to create a valuable and engaging meeting later this summer. We expect everyone will be Zoom experts by then as well! Stay home, stay well, and stay connected.

All the best to each of you,

Lee Anne BledsoeUNESCO Karst 2020 Planning Committee

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Announcing the European Cave Rescue Association Meeting 2020: Spain

The meeting of the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) is planned for 12th-15th November 2020, Cantabria, Spain. The venue is in a major karst area, caves are close. Buildings for meetings and accommodations are in walking distance.

Of course, the situation with COVID-19 is unpredictable. Spain has had a very hard time these days. The ECRA board is monitoring the development of the pandemic and will make the final decision this summer. For more information, visit https://caverescue.eu/ecra-meeting-2020-cantabria-spain/.

Kurt Dennstedt

Secretary General of

European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA)

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14th International Symposium on Pseudokarst: Status Report

Dear Members and Friends of the UIS Pseudokarst Commission,

First of all I wish you good health and good condition in this troubled time, and I declare my solidarity with you and with your societies, in particular in countries most afflicted with COVID-19 crisis!

I would like to inform you that, due to the pandemic situation, the 14th International Symposium on Pseudokarst will be probably postponed but not cancelled. The Second Circular and Second Registration Form are published at its website (https://14pseudokarst.wonders4you.com/). The next message on the further activities related to this Symposium will be distributed at the end of April.

All the best

Jan Urban, President of the UIS Pseudokarst Commission

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ERIS 100 - The 1st International Karst Science Forum: Postponed

Dear Colleague,

Following a thorough consultation with the Romanian Academy under whose aegis we operate, as well as with our key stakeholders, we regretfully have to announce that ERIS 100 - The 1st International Karst Science Forum to be held in Bucharest, Romania, in June 2020, will be postponed to 2021.

Having spent the past nine months planning the Forum with our organizing committee, keynote speakers, participants, and event partners, we are sincerely disappointed not to be able to greet you in Bucharest, in June. However, we live in unprecedented times when health and human life take absolute priority, and staging a scientific event of any kind it is neither possible nor advisable.

We shall inform you of the precise term of the ERIS 100 Forum 2021 as soon as it is decided.

We will also work to refund all registration fees as soon as possible, but please note that our administration is currently working at minimum capacity and so this may take some time. All abstracts will be withdrawn to allow for new or updated submissions in the second half of this year, as we will know more about ERIS 100 Forum 2021 structure.

Following a thorough consultation with the University HQ, as well as with our key sponsors, we regretfully have to announce that CEKA 2020 – Characterization and Engineering of Karst Aquifers planned to take place in Žabljak and Virpazar, Montenegro and Trebinje, Bosnia & Herzegovina in June 2020, will be postponed to 2021.

We are sincerely disappointed not to be able to greet you in this June. However, we live in unprecedented times when health and human life take absolute priority, and staging a scientific course and event of any kind it is neither possible nor advisable.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. Stay healthy and safe.

With warmest regards,

Zoran Stevanovic

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25th International Conference on Subterranean Biology: Suspended

The organizing committee of the 25th International Conference on Subterranean Biology is closely monitoring the situation with travel bans due to the COVID-19 outbreak and spread.

At this stage, we decided to suspend the Conference until further notice. Announcement on further decisions will be published every three months on the Conference site (www.25icsb.com), the SIBIOS site (www.sibios-issb.org), the Facebook pages of the Conference and of the SIBIOS.

The Italian Speleological Society would like to inform you that the XXIII Italian Congress of Speleology foreseen from May 30 to June 2 in Ormea (Cuneo) Italy, is obviously canceled. The new date will be established when possible.

Thank you and best regards,

Raffaella Zerbetto, Vice President of the Italian Speleological Society

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List of Upcoming Cave and Karst Meetings

If you are interested in any of the following events, contact them directly to learn if they are still planned as announced below.

24)ALCADI 2020: International Symposium on History of Speleology and Karstology(ALps, CArpathians and DInarides), 5-8 December2020(Gorizia, Italy), contact:

25)International Course and Field Seminar: Characterization and Engineering of Karst Aquifers, postponed to 2021 (Žabljak-Durmitor Mt., Virpazar-Skadar Lake in Montenegro, and in Trebinje in Bosnia & Herzegovina),http://www.karst.edu.rs.